In short
An island of cliffs and hard-to-reach coves, made famous by its photographs. The reality is rougher: broken roads, steep descents, few services.
People come for a few days of spectacular scenery, rarely to settle.
What it really costs
Accommodation is cheap, but everything else arrives by boat and costs more than in Bali.
Rental scooters are often in poor condition; paying more for a decent one is a safety question here, not a comfort one.
When to go
Dry season from April to October. Crossings are cancelled in heavy seas, and the island has no airport.
April, May and October avoid the July and August crowds.
What nobody tells you
Scooter accidents are frequent here: the slopes are steep and the surface is bad.
The currents on the west coast are violent. Several photogenic beaches are not swimmable, with nothing on site to say so.